Arizona, Arizona Über Alles

Everybody gets so much information all day long
that they lose their common sense.
~ Gertrude Stein

A round up of recent headlines, ledes and soundbites from around the internet on Arizona’s new immigration law…

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon: This is not my Arizona: “‘As an immigration bill that nationally embarrasses Arizona becomes bad law, our best hope in my hometown is that the rest of America doesn’t do to Arizona what the legislation requires our police officers to do to people with brown skin:'”

Oakland City Council passes Arizona boycott: “Oakland City Council members voted 7-0 Tuesday to boycott Arizona and Arizona-based businesses, joining a growing movement against the state after it passed a far-reaching anti-illegal immigration law.

Arizona illegal immigration law: Boycott or buycott?: “Some opponents of the Arizona law appear to have their passions satisfied with boycotts. In response, supporters of the law are organizing a ‘buycott’ to promote the purchase of Arizona’s products and travel to the state.”

Baseball Players’ Union Opposes Arizona Immigration Law: “‘The recent passage by Arizona of a new immigration law could have a negative impact on hundreds of Major League players who are citizens of countries other than the United States,’ union executive director Michael Weiner said in a statement.”

Arizona’s racist immigrant law: “Arizona’s recently passed immigration law is continuing to come under heavy criticism because it is likely to entrench racial discrimination against non-whites. The law is ostensibly designed to tackle the problem of illegal immigration, but when it comes into force (in around three months’ time) it will put huge pressure on the police to stop and question any non-white citizens. An article in the Economist summed up the main problems with the bill:

Illegal immigration is a federal crime. Mr Pearce’s law, however, would also make it a state crime and would require the police, as opposed to federal agents, to make arrests and check the immigration status of individuals who look suspicious to them. Citizens who think their cops are not vigilant enough would be encouraged to sue their cities or counties, and no city or county may remain a ‘sanctuary’ where this law is not enforced…

Arizona is an overwhelmingly white state, and virtually all illegal immigrants—perhaps about half a million in the state—are Hispanic. Whom else would cops suspect and arrest but the brown ones? Even American Latinos who happen to be out without their driving licence might be at risk.

The strength of feeling against the new law is shown by the fact that a police officer is suing the state because he believes that the law is unconstitutional, while a number of cities in Arizona are mulling over where to stop the law being enforced in their areas.”

The Racist Hate Group Behind Arizona’s New Immigration Law: “The Immigration Law Reform Institute (ILRI) helped draft SB-1070 — the draconian law that means police must stop anyone brown-looking and demand their papers. ILRI is the legal arm of a racist hate group. And it’s not stopping at Arizona.”

2 responses to “Arizona, Arizona Über Alles”

I saw Jay Leno at Correspondent Dinner his best line was; “That was my favorite story (this year) Republicans and a Lesbian bondage club. It’s ironic, Republicans don’t want lesbian getting married but they do like watching them “tie the knot”. So I thought that was interesting.”

You can say the same about Tea Party (they are haters not debaters or as others have dubbed them screamers not dreamers), they say they respect the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence but they do not mind passing laws, through weak Governors (no one voted for this crazy) who only care about getting reelected on the backs of undocumented workers, that will not pass Constitution muster, just like Arizona’s House Bill 2779 from two years ago and your MLK Day ban, keep passing them Arizona and the rest of us will continue to challenged them in a court of law and you will fail again (and yes we will Boycott Arizona). Their phony patriotism is sickening; they are just racists going by another name. We all know you are just itching to put a sheet on their head? Let’s face it the Republicans had eight years to deal with health care, immigration, climate change and financial oversight and governance and they failed. It appears that the Republican Party is only good at starting wars (two in eight years, with fat contracts to friends of Cheney/Bush) but not at winning wars as seen by the continuing line of body bags that keep coming home. The Republicans party will continue turned inward to their old fashion obstructionist party (and their Confederacy appreciation roots) because they continue to allow a small portions (but very loud portion) of their party of “birthers, baggers and blowhards” to rule their party. I will admit that this fringe is very good at playing “Follow the Leader” by listening to their dullard leaders, Beck, Hedgecock, Hannity, O’Reilly, Rush, Savage, Sarah Bailin, Orly Taitz, Victoria Jackson, Michele Bachmann and the rest of the Blowhards and acting as ill programmed robots (they have already acted against doctors that perform abortions). The Birthers and the Tea party crowd think they can scare, intimidate and force others to go along with them by comments like “This time we came unarmed”, let me tell you something not all ex-military join the fringe militia crazies who don’t pay taxes and run around with face paint in the parks playing commando, the majority are mature and understand that the world is more complicated and grey than the black and white that these simpleton make it out to be and that my friend is the point. The world is complicated and people like Hamilton, Lincoln, and Roosevelt believed that we should use government a little to increase social mobility, now it’s about dancing around the claim of government is the problem. The sainted Reagan passed the biggest tax increase in American history and as a result federal employment increased, but facts are lost when mired in mysticism and superstition. For a party that gave us Abraham Lincoln, it is tragic that the ranks are filled with too many empty suits and the crazy Birthers who have not learned that the way our courts work is that you get a competent lawyer, verifiable facts and present them to a judge, if the facts are real and not half baked internet lies, then, and only then, do you proceed to trial. The Birthers seem to be having a problem with their so called “facts”. Let’s face it no one will take the Birthers seriously until they win a case, but until then, you will continue to appear dumb, crazy or racist, or maybe all three. I heard that Orly Taitz now wants to investigate the “Republican 2009 Summer of Love” list: Assemblyman, Michael D. Duvall (CA), Senator John Ensign (NV), Senator Paul Stanley (TN), Governor Mark Stanford (SC), Board of Ed Chair, and Kristin Maguire AKA Bridget Keeney (SC), she wants to re-establish a family values party, that’s like saying that the Catholic Church cares about the welling being of children in their care, too late for that. Yee Haw!

I like that Jay Leno joke. I usually don’t care much for Leno, but that was pretty funny. It’s always amazing to me the level of hypocrisy the right gets away with. Not just all that craziness with Republican Party “office supplies” of booze, strippers, etc., but now this religious fundamentalist who preaches homophobia but goes on vacation with a rent boy.

I do worry, though, that when we slam right-wingers for things like drug addiction, prostitutes, homosexuality, affairs, strippers, etc., that we don’t always make it clear that it is their outrageous hypocrisy that we are attacking them for more than the act itself. Of course, it depends on the act. For instance, I don’t have much of a problem with people (of whatever persuasion) trying for an anonymous public hook-up – even in a bathroom – but I am still a bit troubled by commercialized and commodified sex (of whatever form).
I absolutely support sex workers in their various struggles – labor, unionization, health, etc. – but at the same time I think that much of the sex work that goes on – with strippers and with rent boys – is damaging to the individuals involved and something that our society generates out of its dysfunctions….
So we have to be careful to blame the sinner and not the sin, as it were…

Another world is not only possible, she's on the way and, on a quiet day, if you listen very carefully you can hear her breathe.

~ Arundhati Roy

Since 1936 I have fought for wage increases.
My father before me fought for wage increases.
Now I have a TV, a fridge, a Volkswagen.
Yet my whole life has been a drag.
Don’t negotiate with the bosses. Abolish them. ~ message from the walls, Paris, May 1968

No, I am not a reasonable being, nor do I consider our scheme reasonable. Who the hell wants to be reasonable? ~ Emma Goldman

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Rants and ruminations about radical social change, broadly conceived, with particular attention to globalization, corporate capitalism, popular culture, social history, and climate change...
Götterdämmerung capitalism, and the revolution in everyday life.

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